As crime falls, we continue to add to our inventory.
Stack the ammo high and deep folks
For every rule against Obama from the federal courts for being a lawless, unconstitutional POTUS, I exercise my constitutional right and add to my inventory
-Geaux
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What's behind growing gun rights support in the US?
By Taylor Kate BrownBBC News, Washington
Reasons for gun ownership have shifted from hunting to protection in the last 15 years
A slim majority of Americans now support protection of gun rights over gun control. What's driving this support?
On Monday the families of children killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Bushmaster Firearms International, a company that makes the AR-15, one of the guns Adam Lanza used in the December 2012 massacre.
The suit claims the firm knew the gun was unsuitable for public sales because it was designed for military use.
The shooting led to a push for new laws to restrict the sales of firearms nationally.
But efforts to change national laws failed, spurring backlash in some states.
Now researchers at the Pew Center have found that, two years after the shootings, support for gun rights has increased to 52%, a majority for the first time in the survey's history.
The number is up 8% since the aftermath of Sandy Hook.
Gun control continues to be a strongly divisive issue - largely along party lines
Increased support for gun rights is a long-term trend that has become more pronounced since Barack Obama took office, says Carroll Doherty, director of political research at Pew. The issue is still strongly divisive, largely along partisan lines.
"This is not a reaction to any specific gun proposal," Doherty says, adding Pew saw "across-the-board change" since 2012 in favour of gun rights, with the exception of a few groups - self-identified liberal Democrats among them.
There is an increasing familiarity with guns in the US, and more states are passing "shall issue" laws - making gun licensing less discretionary, says Dr Jennifer Dawn Carlson, an American sociologist who teaches at the University of Toronto.
With an estimated 300 million guns in the US, Carlson says, "clearly there are more guns that are not involved in crime versus the opposite". Such firearms are associated with family and protection instead of crime.
Protesters bring their firearms to a rally against new gun control rules in Washington state
"It's actually something that you make a part of your everyday life," Carlson says.
Some states, like Texas, have a strong open-carry movement, where those who are licensed can carry unconcealed firearms in public.
Such a public presence, Carlson says, desensitises people from the shock of seeing a gun and reduces the taboo around gun ownership.
"Gun ownership is increasingly seen as part of what it means to be a responsible citizen," she says.
"It's not just a right to self-defence but a duty to protect your family and community."
Protection was on the minds of those surveyed by Pew - 57% said they believe gun ownership protects people from becoming victims of crime, up from 48% in 2012.
BBC News - What s behind growing gun rights support in the US
Stack the ammo high and deep folks
For every rule against Obama from the federal courts for being a lawless, unconstitutional POTUS, I exercise my constitutional right and add to my inventory
-Geaux
==============================
What's behind growing gun rights support in the US?
By Taylor Kate BrownBBC News, Washington
A slim majority of Americans now support protection of gun rights over gun control. What's driving this support?
On Monday the families of children killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Bushmaster Firearms International, a company that makes the AR-15, one of the guns Adam Lanza used in the December 2012 massacre.
The suit claims the firm knew the gun was unsuitable for public sales because it was designed for military use.
The shooting led to a push for new laws to restrict the sales of firearms nationally.
But efforts to change national laws failed, spurring backlash in some states.
Now researchers at the Pew Center have found that, two years after the shootings, support for gun rights has increased to 52%, a majority for the first time in the survey's history.
The number is up 8% since the aftermath of Sandy Hook.
Increased support for gun rights is a long-term trend that has become more pronounced since Barack Obama took office, says Carroll Doherty, director of political research at Pew. The issue is still strongly divisive, largely along partisan lines.
"This is not a reaction to any specific gun proposal," Doherty says, adding Pew saw "across-the-board change" since 2012 in favour of gun rights, with the exception of a few groups - self-identified liberal Democrats among them.
There is an increasing familiarity with guns in the US, and more states are passing "shall issue" laws - making gun licensing less discretionary, says Dr Jennifer Dawn Carlson, an American sociologist who teaches at the University of Toronto.
With an estimated 300 million guns in the US, Carlson says, "clearly there are more guns that are not involved in crime versus the opposite". Such firearms are associated with family and protection instead of crime.
"It's actually something that you make a part of your everyday life," Carlson says.
Some states, like Texas, have a strong open-carry movement, where those who are licensed can carry unconcealed firearms in public.
Such a public presence, Carlson says, desensitises people from the shock of seeing a gun and reduces the taboo around gun ownership.
"Gun ownership is increasingly seen as part of what it means to be a responsible citizen," she says.
"It's not just a right to self-defence but a duty to protect your family and community."
Protection was on the minds of those surveyed by Pew - 57% said they believe gun ownership protects people from becoming victims of crime, up from 48% in 2012.
BBC News - What s behind growing gun rights support in the US
